Battle With City Restarts

Residents Fight Spray Field Plan

UMATILLA — Seventeen years ago, Cemetery Road area residents successfully fought the city's attempt to put a sewage spray field in their neighborhood.

Now, they've united in battle again over the same issue.

''The city just won't give up,'' said Jim Makin, whose home adjoins the spray field site and who has helped organize the opposition. ''We thought it was dead 17 years ago.''

The county planning and zoning board last month voted 5-1 to recommend the county deny the request to rezone 40 acres on Cemetery Road to a designation that would allow for a spray field.

But the final decision rests with the County Commission, which will consider the controversial issue June 24.

The city requested the county rezone the city-owned parcel earlier this year. In February, there was a request to rezone the site from Agriculture/Conditional Use Permit to Community Facility District.

That rezoning request, however, didn't specify the city had planned a wastewater facility and spray field on the site.

David Hanna, city administrator, said in the application to the county that they wanted to continue using the property for storing yard trash and land-clearing debris, and for composting. They also wanted to use the property as an additional water reclamation facility.

Residents of the area, however, said the purpose was for a sewage spray field, which they vigorously opposed.

City officials acknowledged at the zoning hearing that a sewage spray field was in their long-term plan for the site. Hanna said it is the perfect location - because it is adjacent to Golden Gem's spray field site.

The planning and zoning commission narrowly turned down that request and asked the city to resubmit the application specifically for a wastewater treatment facility and spray field. That is the application now being considered.

There are 56 homes within a quarter of a mile of the site. Dozens of residents have written letters and called or signed petitions to fight the city's latest plan to put in a spray field.

''Does the city of Umatilla think as neighbors and property owners our opinions have changed in less than six months?'' resident Gary Stura said.

Maria Berckes asked the county to ''permanently ban this rezoning.''

Resident H.W. Kelley said they are tired of fighting the city over the proposed spray field.

''We don't want their spray field in our neighborhood,'' Kelly protested to the county. ''It would poison our wells, destroy our property values and be a potential health hazard.''

Nadine Foley, a resident of the area for more than 30 years, said the county had good reason to turn down the spray field request in 1980, and those reasons haven't changed.

But Hanna said they have.

He said in the past, the city was thinking about only running waterlines to the site, but now they are planning a treatment facility there, as well as a spray field, which will allow them to offer a sewer system to area residents who now use septic tanks.

The plan calls for a 200-foot buffer of vegetation around the facility, which would be good for the environment, Hanna said.

''They won't be able to see it, hear it, or presumably, smell it,'' Hanna said.

Hanna said if they can't convince the county the site is right, the city probably would sell the property.

That's what residents hope will happen.

''I fought against this in 1980, and I will fight against it in 1997, and whenever this proposal may rise again,'' Jeanette Wiley vowed.

Makin said the city needed to give up on this particular site and find another more remote location for its spray field.